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F1: Jerez testing report 23/07/08

By LJ Hutchins

Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel has proved he is no one-hit wonder by topping the Jerez timesheets for the second day running.

He was the only driver to post a time under 1 minute 19 on the second day of testing – having been the sole person to leap the 1 minute 20 hurdle on Tuesday.

And, in yet another parallel with the previous day at the southern Spanish track, McLaren’s Pedro de la Rosa was second and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen third.

De La Rosa posted a fastest time some two-tenths of a second behind the Toro Rosso driver while Raikkonen was around three-tenths of a second slower still.

Fourth was Williams’ Nico Rosberg, fifth Red Bull’s Mark Webber and sixth Honda’s Alexander Wurz who was only able to put in 77 laps after an engine problem brought his car to a halt out on the track.

BMW Sauber’s Christian Klien was able to return to work after his test was halted the previous day. A fault with the car’s new KERS system had led to a team mechanic receiving an electric shock that knocked him to the ground and the man spent a precautionary night in hospital.

Red Bull said of the day’s events: “Mark Webber began his two days of running at Jerez de la Frontera today in extremely hot conditions with the ambient temperature heading for the high 30s and the track seeing highs of 55 Celsius.

“The RB4 was fitted with slick tyres all day, with two types of Bridgestone tyre on offer. Today’s programme therefore focused mainly on 2009 development, with a smaller wing fitted to approximate to the reduced levels of downforce allowed in next year’s regulations.

“Other elements of the 2009 package were also evaluated, but tomorrow Mark and the team return to short-term development for the upcoming races of this season.”

For McLaren, de la Rosa spent the morning running on 2009 specifications, including slick tyres, and moved back onto conventional tyres in the afternoon.